


Lost Girl

by WritingWeirdo



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Amnesia, Drama, Drama & Romance, Family Feels, Family Secrets, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28207743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingWeirdo/pseuds/WritingWeirdo
Summary: Evelyn Dark had lived in Storybrook for as long as she could remember, problem was she couldn't remember anything past a year ago. Word is, she had an accident while hiking in the woods, she was found there by the mayor, Regina Mills, and rushed to the hospital.When she woke, she had no memory of her past, she had no family in town and so Regina Mills took her in, giving her a home and a brother, Henry Mills.A year later, Henry ran away to find his biological mother and then Emma Swan, Henry's biological mother, came to town and changed everything.(𝙾𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚄𝚙𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝚂𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙾𝚗𝚎)
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Henry Mills & Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Original Character(s), Henry Mills & Emma Swan, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time)/Original Female Character(s)





	1. Evelyn Dark

Name: Evelyn Wendy Dark 

Looks: brown hair, green eyes

Age: 17

Portrayed By: Danielle Campbell

Personality: Determined, loyal, impatient, sarcastic, bookworm, confident 

Likes: Reading, the wilderness, walking, the woods, fantasy, cheesy romance movies and books, the stars

Dislikes: Swimming, the ocean, fire

Hobbies: Reading, playing guitar, stargazing, walking

Nicknames: Evie, Eve (everyone)

Family: Unknown

Adopted Family: Regina Mills (mother), Henry Mills (brother)

Friends: Daniella, Daniel, Sebastian, Arabella, and Adrien

Bio:

I'm Evelyn Wendy Dark, or I think I am. I've lived in Storybrook Maine for as long as I can remember which is about a year. When I was sixteen, I was found unconscious in the woods by the mayor of the town, Regina Mills, she rushed me to the hospital where I later woke a month later to find I remembered nothing of my past. It was only a week after I woke that I remembered my name, Evelyn Wendy Dark. Regina adopted me and gave me a home as well as a brother, Henry Mills. Henry ran off to find his biological mother, when he came back, bringing Emma Swan with him everything changed.


	2. Cast

Daniella Campbell

as

Evelyn Wendy Dark

The Lost Girl

"I wish I could remember."

Keiynan Lonsdale

as

Daniel Andrews

The Guy Best Friend

"You don't get to just walk away from her."

China Anne McClain

as

Danielle Andrews

The Honorary Sister

"I always knew you were nasty, I just didn't realize how nasty you are."

Madeline Petsch

as

Arabella Ericson

The Badass

"Do you want me to fight him? Cause I will."

KJ Apa

as

Adrien Ericson

The Protector

"Don't go anywhere near her."

Thomas Doherty

as

Sebastian Jones

The Ex

"I wish I could rewind. Change everything."

Jared S. Gilmore

as

Henry Mills

The Little Brother

"You want ice cream?"

Lana Parrila

as

Regina Mills

The Mother

"You may not be my blood, but you are my daughter."

Jennifer Morrison

as

Emma Swan

The Savior

"Fairytales aren't real."

The Cast of Once Upon A Time

as

Their Characters  
  


Disclaimer

I do not own Once Upon A Time, it belongs to its rightful owners. I only own my original characters and their stories.


	3. 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎

☾ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ☽

A young brunette at the age of sixteen stumbled through the strange forest, panicked and scared beyond belief as she called for the only person she wanted at that moment, the only person she needed, "Peter!"

The girl barely stopped herself from falling on her face, grabbing into a tree as she held herself before calling out again, "Peter!"

She didn't know where she was, all she knew was she had to find him.

The girl continued to stumble through the forest, hardly paying any attention to her surroundings as she called out one last time, "Peter!" She didn't notice the tears that had begun to fall down her face at some point and if she did, she didn't care.

She should have paid more attention. She had done this before however this time Peter wasn't there to help her. She fell, tripping over a tree root, her eyes widening as she rolled down the hill, hitting her head along the way.

After a moment, she stopped rolling, her breath shaky as she laid on flat ground. Hesitantly she brought her hand up to her head, when she pulled it back she saw red. Her eyes widened in fear, a whimper forcing its way out as tears continued to fall, "Peter?" She called one last time before she fell unconscious, her hand falling to the cold leaf-covered ground of the strange, unfamiliar forest with one last thought.

He will find her. Even if it takes years. He has to find her. He just has to. She's lost without him.

☾☾

Regina Mills was walking in the forest to clear her mind when she nearly tripped, her brows furrowing as she looked for the source, huffing when she saw nothing. It must have been a twig, she brushed it off as she continued walking only to see red on leaves leading down a hill.

Her eyes followed the trail of bloody leaves until she found a young teenaged girl at the bottom of the hill, lying unconscious underneath a thin layer of leaves.

Regina's eyes widened, frozen in shock before she snapped herself out of it and rushed to help the young girl, hoping it wasn't too late for her. Hoping she wasn't too late.

Regina carried her through the forest before finding help from one of the residents of Storybrook, Maine, the town she was mayor of. With the help of Archie Hopper, she took the girl to the hospital where she would visit daily after the event to check on the girl despite her status never changing, the girl sleeping peacefully in her hospital bed as days passed.

☾☾

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into a month before the girl finally woke.

When the girl woke, she was alone. She didn't know where she was, what had happened to wind her up wherever she was nor who she was.

The girl woke with a start as she shot up in the hospital bed she had slept in for a month, her throat was dry, that was the first thing she noticed, the second how bright the lights were. She winced, not used to the bright lights before she got used to them and looked around.

The room was plain and boring, a small empty chair sat beside her causing her eyes to wander to what she was sitting on. It was a bed, that knowledge came to her easily as she stared at the white sheets, a thin blanket over the top of it, beside her leaning against the pillow that had a significant dent in it was a small brown teddy bear.

Her eyes furrowed as she wondered how it got there or more specifically who put it there.

Suddenly, the door to her hospital room slid open causing her head to shoot up once again to find a person dressed in a lab coat holding a cupboard standing there. A doctor, she realized.

The doctor sighed, mumbling something like "This girl again." before looking up, shocked to find the girl awake. His eyes widened, "Y-you're awake?" He questioned rhetorically.

"I guess so." The girl replied with a nervous smile. Not knowing what was going on at all but going along with whatever was happening. "W-where am I?" She asked noticing how hoarse her voice sounded.

The doctor frowned, going over to the sink and grabbing a cup before filling it with water and handing it to the girl who gladly took it, "You're at Storybrook Hospital." He told her absentmindedly, "I need to call the mayor." He said to himself before he began to walk away, noting to tell a nurse to check on the girl as he called the mayor.

"Wait!" The girl called before the doctor could leave. "Who am I?" She asked as the doctor turned back to her.

"You don't know?" The doctor asked in shock, his eyes widening impossibly wide as the girl shook her head in confirmation, confusion written across her face. "Oh, this isn't good. I really must call the mayor."

Without another word, the doctor left to call the mayor leaving the young confused girl alone in her hospital bed, more questions running through her mind than before as she stared at the closed door.

Who was the mayor? And why did the doctor have to call them so urgently? She wondered.

Does the mayor know who I am?

☾☾

The mayor in fact did not know who she was and neither did she, for a week the unknown girl was called Miracle because that's what she was and then she remembered.

When she remembered she was alone, the mayor, Regina Mills, had not arrived for her daily visit. She breathed out as she stared at the door, a grin on her face as she spoke to the empty room, "I remember."

When Regina arrived she was still staring at the door. "Hello, Miracle." She greeted with a kind smile as she closed the door behind her, "How was your day?" She asked before noticing the look on the girl's face, her smile turned to a frown as concern filled her. "Are you alright?"

"I remember." She spoke still amazed by the fact.

Regina's brows furrowed in confusion. "Remember what?" She asked curiously as she stepped closer.

"Who I am." She answered finally looking at Regina directly for the first time since she arrived, a grin on her face as she spoke confidently, "I am Evelyn Wendy Dark."

☾ 𝟷,𝟶𝟾𝟺 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ☽


	4. 𝟶𝟷

꧁ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ꧂

The day the Mills family found out Henry Mills, Evelyn's brother and Regina's son, had run away was normal, if not for the missing boy, nobody would have thought anything had changed.

Evelyn certainly didn't when she got out of bed after her alarm went off in the morning, she grumbled tiredly as she went over to her dresser, grabbing something at random before heading to the bathroom she shared with Henry.

Usually, Henry would wake soon after however, she assumed he had simply slept in so when she didn't see or hear him, she brushed it off.

Once Evelyn was done getting ready, she grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs to have breakfast with her mother, Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrook.

"Morning mom." Evelyn greeted with a grin as she grabbed an apple, taking a bite as her mother spun around to look at her.

Regina grinned at her daughter as she held out a cup of coffee to her daughter who happily took it, "Morning Evie." She replied before frowning. "Where's Henry?"

Evelyn shrugged. "Probably still sleeping." She told her as she sat down.

Regina sighed, nodding as she grabbed her purse. "I have to go, I have things to do but can you wake Henry before you go?"

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah of course mom." She replied, happy to help the woman who had taken her in.

Regina smiled, pressing a quick kiss to her daughter's cheek before grabbing her keys. "Thanks, sweetie. Have a good day at school!" She called as she walked away.

Not a moment later, Evelyn heard the sound of the front door slamming shut before the lock clicked.

Once Evelyn finished her apple, throwing away the core into the trash, she headed upstairs to wake her brother, leaving her coffee downstairs on the counter by her backpack.

Evelyn approached her brother's door with ease, knocking on it loudly in case she needed to wake him, when he didn't speak up, not even to tell her to leave him alone, she frowned and gripped the doorknob, turning it and opening the door.

If she had been holding something, she surely would have dropped it upon seeing her brother's bed empty, a note left on his desk that had Evie on the top in big bold messy letters.

Evelyn studied the room for a moment, calling out for her little brother before she approached the letter, picking it up carefully as if it could harm her. Finally, she unfolded the letter and began to read it, wondering where her brother possibly could have gone.

_Evie,_

_I know you'll be the one to find this, if you aren't Evie then stop reading!_

_Hey Eves. As you can guess, I'm gone. I went to find my mom, my biological mom._

Evelyn's eyes widened. She knew Henry had been more interested in his biological mother recently, he had talked to her about it often enough, asking her if she ever thought about who hers was, she never thought he would actually find her let alone run off to see her!

_I know you don't believe in my stories but I believe. My mom is the savior, she can save all of us, she can return the memories of everyone! Maybe if she breaks the curse, you can find your family too!_

Evelyn sighed, shaking her head. "Oh Henry..."

_But don't worry about me, I'll be home soon and if everything goes right, my mom will be with me._

_See you soon!_

_Henry_

Written messily, as if Henry had almost forgotten to add it, was one last sentence.

_Oh and do me a favor don't tell mom any of this!_

Evelyn put the letter down and groaned, running her hand through her hair as she stared at the letter. "Moms gonna kill Henry." She mumbled, "And me." She added. "If I don't kill him first."

Shaking her head, Evelyn left her brother's room, glancing back one last time as if by some miracle she would find her brother laying in his bed, fast asleep, safe in their home, of course, he wasn't.

Evelyn sighed, heading back downstairs and grabbing her backpack which she threw over her shoulder, letting it hang off one as she grabbed her coffee and walked out the door, her house keys jangling on her backpack loudly until she took them off to lock the door before heading off to school, pushing down the anxiety she had felt the moment she saw Henry's empty bed.

_You better come home soon Henry._ Evelyn thought as she watched her home disappear from her view on the back of the bus.

Soon enough, Evelyn was at Storybrook High. She got off the bus with her empty cup of coffee and her backpack and spotted her friends; the first set of twins Danielle and Daniel Andrews, otherwise known as Dani or

Elle and Dan, the second set of twins were Adrien and Arabella Ericson.

Evelyn took a shaky breath as she headed over to her friends who greeted her instantly, a chorus of "Hey Eve!" And "Hey Evie!" Could be heard as Evelyn offered a weak smile.

"What's wrong? Did Sebastian say anything? Do you want me to fight him, cause I will." Arabella told her, her fiery red hair blowing in the wind as she narrowed her eyes, her fists clenched by her side as if ready for a fight.

Arabella's always ready for a fight, fighting for her friends? She would never say no to that. She was loyal incredibly so and her temper never failed to boost her protective side.

Evelyn focused on her words for a moment chuckling at the offer.

Sebastian Jones, Bash, or Seb as most call him, is Evelyn's ex. They split on mutual terms about a month ago after dating for three although everyone said they dated 'forever' nobody really knew why they split, neither willing to talk about it as their split wasn't exactly a pleasant memory.

Seeing as neither talked about it, everyone assumed the worst. Most assumed Sebastian cheated on her, some said she cheated.

At first, her friends didn't believe the rumors that quickly spread, however when Annabeth or Annie, Evelyn's nemesis, said Sebastian had cheated on Evelyn with her... they began to believe the rumors despite not trusting Annabeth, more so they believed them when neither Evelyn nor Sebastian denied anything.

After that, it was never the same between the group that used to be so close.

Evelyn bit her tongue, wondering if she should tell them the truth but shaking her head, not right now. "Henry ran away." She blurted out, suddenly all too aware of Sebastian's eyes on her, he always seemed to do that, watch her.

"What?" Her friends shouted in shock.

"Shh!" She hushed them quickly, not wanting anyone other than her trusted friends to hear as not only would rumors spread, word might get back to her mom and no matter how angry Evelyn was with Henry for just taking off like that, she was loyal, if her brother wanted her to keep his secret a secret, she would.

Her friends went silent immediately. "Sorry." Danielle apologized as the others nodded, agreeing with Danielle.

Evelyn sighed. "It's fine it's just..." She rannervous, shaking fingers through her hair, "My mom doesn't know." She admitted quietly.

"Seriously?" Adrien asked in shock. Regina Mills knew everything that happened in Storybrook, her own son disappearing without her knowledge... it's shocking, to say the least.

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah." Evelyn took a shaky breath, gripping her backpack strap tightly. "He found his bio mom. He's gone to find her and bring her back." Evelyn shook her head, "He thinks she's some savior."

"Savior?" Daniel questioned, his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

Evelyn's eyes widened as she realized she had never told her friends about Henry's fairytale beliefs, another secret he asked her to keep. "It's nothing."

Her friends didn't believe it, not for one second, however before they could even think of questioning the brunette, the bell rang loudly, signaling it was time to go to their first class.

"I have to go." Evelyn told them anxiously. She wished she could stay, perhaps they could comfort her, do something (anything) to help her relax, but she couldn't. Her mother would have enough to deal with once she finds out Henry's missing, or run away rather, she didn't want to add her missing class to the troubling list.

Adrien nodded, offering Evelyn a quick side hug. "Alright. Good luck in biology."

Her friends nodded in support. "Don't worry about Henry too much, he's a smart kid." Danielle told her friend.

Evelyn chuckled as she stepped back from Adrien. "I know." She grinned proudly, "But he's still my brother. I'll always worry about him."

The friends nodded, glancing at their respected twin in understanding. "We know." They chorused making Evelyn chuckle before she headed off to her first class, Biology.

An hour later, Evelyn was headed to the roof to relax during her free period and just be alone, she was walking along the first-floor hallway when suddenly she heard the sound of a nearby door opening before her arm was grabbed roughly and she was dragged into the room.

Evelyn went to scream in panic, her eyes wide in fear, when a hand went over her mouth. "Shh." A familiar voice hushed her before the hand was taken away and she heard the soft click noise of someone turning on the light before a dim light filled the air as Evelyn spun around to find out who her captor is.

"Sebastian?" She asked breathlessly.

The tall brunette smiled softly at the shorter girl, "Hello love." He greeted her with the nickname that used to make her melt.

Evelyn tensed upon hearing the name, narrowing her eyes as she stared up at him. "Why did you bring me here?" She asked as she glanced around the small janitor's closet which was clustered with all kinds of things, mostly cleaning supplies, the cluster made the already small room seem even smaller as Evelyn realized how close she truly is to Sebastian, her breath catching in her throat as she stared up at the teen.

"I heard what you said about Henry, running away to find his bio mom when you were talking to everyone." He explained softly, "I wanted to make sure you're alright."

Evelyn nodded, not in reply to Sebastian's concern, but in response to her own thoughts.

Him worrying about her, despite strange, made sense. They were friends before they dated and during their relationship they were always close, he was also close to Henry so it made sense.

"I'm alright just worried about him." She told him quietly as she crossed her arms, her nails digging into her arms as her eyes softened on instinct.

Sebastian nodded in understanding. "I know love." He replied, "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's smart and strong and he'll be back real soon."

Evelyn nodded, her grip on her arms loosening as his words comforted her. "Yeah..." She replied in a whisper.

"But what about you," Sebastian started, changing the subject hesitantly, "Will you be okay?"

Evelyn sighed. "I don't know, Seb." She replied softly, looking down at the dirty ground. "I don't like this, not being able to protect him."

"His mom won't hurt him." Sebastian told her comfortingly.

Evelyn nodded. "I know... but he's my baby brother and when he runs off without me... I can't protect him." He's alone, just like she was when she had her accident, what if he got hurt just like she did?

"Eve." Sebastian called, bringing her back to the real world. "We should go." He told her softly, nodding at the locked door.

Evelyn nodded, clearing her throat as she gripped her backpack, stopping it just as it nearly fell off her shoulder. "Yeah."

"Henry will be just fine, you'll see." Sebastian told her before she walked out, she offered a small weak smile in response, thankful for his comforts despite them not being on the best terms right now. A few moments later, he left the janitor's closet as well as they went their separate ways for the day, both hoping the youngest Mills child would be alright, wherever he is, and that he would come home soon.

꧁ 𝟸,𝟶𝟼𝟶 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ꧂


	5. 𝟶𝟸

꧁ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ꧂

Sebastian shut the closet door after he exited the janitor's closet, jumping when a voice spoke behind him, "What do you think you're doing?"

Sebastian spun around to find Adrien and Arabella. He grinned nervously. "Hey, guys, what's up?"

"What's up?" Arabella repeated stepping closer to him in a way that made Sebastian cower back with a nervous grin. "What's up is you doing things you shouldn't."

Sebastian stood straighter, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?" He asked, "Look I don't know what you guys think I've done but-"

"You were with Evie." Adrien stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Sebastian's eyes widened in realization. They had seen them together. "Look guys I was just- I heard about Henry and I-"

"I don't care what you were doing. You broke her heart, Sebastian." Adrien told him sternly as if Sebastian didn't already know that.

Sebastian sighed looking down ashamed. "I know, I just-"

Adrien shook his head. "Don't." Adrien stepped closer to Sebastian who suddenly felt as short as a mice under the other teen's hard gaze, Adrien made himself seem taller as he spoke sternly, his words a demand not a request, "Don't go anywhere near her." Or else went unsaid as did the threat that followed however Sebastian heard it loud and clear as he nodded before looking down at his watch.

"I have to go." Sebastian told them, he was already five minutes late to his class, now it seemed like he maybe ten minutes late.

Adrien nodded. "Yeah, you do."

꧁ 𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕 ꧂

It was when Evelyn stepped out of the school after her school day was over that she realized her mother would have already found out about her brother being missing as she often got out of work before she got out of school.

Evelyn held her backpack closer as she glanced back at it, wondering when her phone would begin ringing.

It was no surprise to Evelyn when her phone began ringing just as she got to the sidewalk, she sighed as she paused, looking around for somewhere to sit she found a bench which she made her way to as she fished her phone out from the pocket on the side of her backpack. 

Evelyn was not surprised when she saw her mother's number on the screen however she did feel somewhat panicked as she sat down, pressing answer before pressing it or her ear nervously, silently hoping she wouldn't be in too much trouble although she knew she would be.

"Hey mom." She greeted nervously, drawling out the hey.

"Evelyn." Said girl winced at the coldness in her mother's voice, it wasn't often that she sounded like this however when she did it scared Evelyn.

Her therapist said it could be something from her past coming to light although there were no memories that followed. It could be an instinct from her past, there were many things, all of which involved her past, that her therapist told her could be the reason behind her reactions.

Usually, her mother attempted to stay calm and collected, keeping her voice soft and kind, when talking to her however when Evelyn had done something wrong, that was a different story.

"Where is your brother?" Her mother questioned.

Evelyn cowered into herself as she answered her mother quietly, "Yeah about that..." She started, "I'm not entirely sure?" Her answer came out more like a question, perhaps it was because Evelyn knew she was lying, something she had always hated doing, or she thinks she always hated.

"You don't know?" Her mother questioned harshly.

Evelyn nodded quietly before realizing her mother couldn't see her actions. "No. He wasn't there when I went to wake him, I had hoped he woke up early and went to school on his own." She told her mother, telling her of what she had hoped before she found her letter, something she knew she couldn't mention to her mother.

Her mother stayed silent on the other side for a moment before sighing. "I'm sorry Evie, I'm just worried about him." Regina told her daughter, her voice sounding completely different, no harshness or cold to be found.

"I know mom. I am too." She told her mother comfortingly.

"Are you on your way home?" Regina asked curiously.

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah, I just got out." She told her mother.

"Okay good, I'm asking around town now, once you finish your homework we can both look for him." Regina told her daughter who groaned.

"Come on mom it's Henry! He's way more important than some stupid algebra homework." Evelyn whined with a pout that her mother wouldn't see however they both knew it was there.

"You're not getting out of doing your homework. Now come straight home and if you get your homework done before it's dark you can help me look for a while, alright?" Regina compromised.

Evelyn nodded immediately before once again realizing her mother couldn't see. "Yes! I'll be right home." Evelyn paused, hesitating for a moment before she spoke again. "He's alright, isn't he?"

"Of course he is. Henry's smart, we know that better than anyone. He'll be in for a world of trouble when he gets back but, he'll be fine." Regina comforted her daughter who sighed in relief, relaxing immediately after hearing her mother's knowing words.

"You're right. It's Henry, he'll be just fine." Evelyn replied with a small smile as she stood up, "I'm gonna start heading home now so I'll see you soon." She told her mom as she adjusted her backpack.

"Alright, Evie. I love you, sweetheart, get home safe and keep an eye out." Regina told her daughter softly.

"Of course. I love you too mom." She told her mother before she hung up, slipping the phone back into the pocket of her backpack before sighing and beginning her walk home, hoping that her mom was right, that Henry really would be okay out there, where she can't protect him, where neither of them can protect him.

Evelyn stared at the ground as she walked, having done this walk enough to do it without looking much. "You better be safe Hen." She muttered to herself as she walked.

꧁ 𝙱𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗 ꧂

Henry sat on a bus to Boston as he read his favorite take out of his book, Snow White. He glanced out the nearby window as he got closer to the address of his birth mother.

"That a good book?" A woman on one of the seats across from Henry asked.

"This?" Henry asked holding up his 'book,' "It's more than just a book." He told the woman stubbornly. Nobody believed him when he said it was more than just a book so it was no surprise when the woman chuckled.

"Oh!" She said before she fell into a fit of chuckles.

"Boston South station. Thank you for riding Greyhound." A voice spoke from the speakers, echoing through the bus as a grin came to Henry's face. He was here.

Horns honked around him as Henry stepped off the bus, he looked around in awe at the city. He had never been outside of his small hometown of Storybrook, until now.

Henry made his way over to a nearby taxi and knocked on the window of the passenger seat side, "Hold on." The taxi driver spoke before rolling down the window the boy stood at.

"Uh, you take credit cards?" Henry asked holding up a credit card.

"Where to chief?" The driver asked, asking no other questions. Henry grinned as he got in the taxi before telling the driver where he was to drive to.

Once Henry arrived at his mother's doorstep, he took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, waiting patiently for his mother to come to the door, when she did, Henry studied her, from her long blonde curls to the bright pink dress she wore that Henry grimaced at.

Evelyn would never wear that type of dress, in fact, she hated the color pink and dresses. She only wore them when their mother, Regina Mills, forced her.

Meanwhile, Emma Swan, Henry's birth mother, looked down at the small boy who rang her doorbell curiously, looking behind him for an adult. "Um..." Emma spoke, "Can I help you?" She questioned as she leaned against her doorframe.

"Are you Emma Swan?" Henry asked just to be certain this woman was his mother although in his heart he knew the second he saw her.

"Yeah. Who are you?" Emma responded.

Henry paused, wondering what Evelyn would say if she was here before he spoke. "My names Henry. I'm your son." He told her with a grin.

Emma stared down at the boy in disbelief for a moment before Henry made his way into her apartment by going underneath her outstretched arm causing Emma's eyes to widen.

"Woah! Hey, kid?! Kid? Kid?" Emma called as Henry ignored her, she shut her door before following after him. "I don't have a son!" Emma insisted, "Where are your parents?" She asked him as he made his way over to her kitchen.

"Ten years ago, did you give up a baby up for adoption?" He asked, already knowing the answer, as he paused his moment standing by her counter.

Emma stared at him in disbelief wondering how he could possibly know such a thing.

Before Emma could say a worth, whether denial or agreement, Henry spoke. "That was me."

Not knowing what to say to the small kid who claimed to be her son, she spoke, "Give me a minute." Before walking off to her bathroom.

As Henry heard the bathroom door close, he shrugged, anxiously making his way to the fridge where he rummaged through it to find juice or something as he took deep breaths just as his therapist told him to when he got like this.

As he rummaged through the fridge, he wondered if this was the right thing to do. Did his mom even want him? She certainly didn't act like it, she seemed like she just wanted to forget about it all, about him.

Maybe this was all a big mistake, maybe he shouldn't have come here. Henry glanced around for a phone, wondering if he should call Evelyn, his sister always knew what to do.

Before he could decide anything against his initial decision to run off to his birth mom, he shook his head and focused on the fridge, continuing his search for juice.

"Hey, you have any juice?" Henry called as he looked through the fridge.

Finally, he spotted some juice, a triumphant smirk coming to his face as he called to his birth mom in response to his original question. "Never mind, found some."

He took the lid off and began to drink straight out of the cup, something that his mother would have scolded him for back in Storybrook, Evelyn would have laughed or scolded him depending on the drink of choice.

As he heard the door open, he took away the bottle from his lips, looking at his birth mom as she walked out of the bathroom. He set the bottle of juice down on the counter as he spoke. "You know we should probably get going." He told her.

"Going where?" Emma asked, her arms crossed over her stomach as she stopped in front of him on the other side of the counter.

"I want you to come home with me." He told her with a hopeful grin.

"Okay kid. I'm calling the cops." She told her.

Her words caused Henry to panic briefly as he quickly thought of what to do, "Then I'll tell them you kidnapped me." He told her.

Emma turned to him with her phone in hand. "And they'll believe you because I'm your birth mother." She responded.

"Yep." Henry replied proud of his quick thinking.

"You're not gonna do that." Emma replied.

Henry stared at her, using his inner Evelyn to stay strong. "Try me."

"You're pretty good. But here's the thing." Emma spoke as Henry listened quietly, holding his head up high. "There's not a lot I'm great at in life but I have one skill. Let's call it a superpower." Emma paused, her words peaking Henry's interest. "I can tell when anyone is lying." She told him, "And you, kid, are."

As Emma began to press buttons on her phone to call the cops, Henry spoke before it was too late. "Wait." His words caused his birth mom to pause, looking at him curiously. "Please don't call the cops. Please." He pleaded, all he wanted was to know his birth mom. "Come home with me."

"Where's home?" Emma asked him.

"Storybrooke, Maine." Henry told her.

Emma stared at him in disbelief. "'Storybrooke'? Seriously?" Emma questioned.

"Mmm-hmm." Henry hummed in response.

"All righty then." Emma spoke, "Let's get you back to Storybrooke." She told him as she began walking away.

Henry grinned triumphantly as he got off the barstool.

His mom's coming home with him. He couldn't wait for her to meet Evelyn.

꧁ 𝟸,𝟷𝟽𝟾 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ꧂


	6. 𝟶𝟹

꧁ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ꧂

Evelyn was tired. She had been sitting on her bed staring at her homework page for an hour. She was stuck on a question, the first question of her first page of homework.

It wasn't like the question was hard or anything, she could usually answer it in her sleep however she couldn't tear her mind away from Henry. She was worried sick about him and her mother still hadn't called or texted or anything leaving her to believe — to know — that he hasn't been found yet and it's already dark which only increased her worries.

Her mother came back two hours ago to see if she was done with her homework — which she hadn't even started, so of course, her mother told her she had to stay home and do her homework because school comes first. Evelyn had been looking for clues in Henry's room and had promptly groaned at her words and stomped back to her room where she dug her homework out and threw it on the bed as her mother sighed and left to look for Henry, who, as Evelyn's mind was constantly reminding her, had not been found yet.

"What should I do?" Evelyn wondered aloud as she tapped her pencil on her homework page. Evelyn glanced at her open window as a breeze came through, pushing her curtains to the side with how powerful the wind was.

Evelyn shivered and set her pencil down, standing up she made her way over to the window. She put her hands on the window, ready to close it when she came to the realization. She put her hands down and poked her head out the window, she had a straight shot onto the roof, she could easily climb out without getting hurt and something told her she didn't have to worry about getting down.

Evelyn nearly jumped out the window without thinking before she shivered again, stopping in her tracks, her foot already on the window sill, the coldness of it reminding her that she didn't have any shoes on. "Oh right." She mumbled as she got out of the window and back into her room where she grabbed a pair of socks, her favorite pair of black combat boots, and a jean jacket that had gray sweatshirt sleeve cuffs and a gray hood with sweatshirt material. She sat on the edge of her bed and slipped on her socks, afterward sliding her shoes on, quickly tying them in a tight knot before standing up and putting her jacket on, she tugged on the jacket, adjusting the collar and getting used to the feel of the jean material on her skin before she grabbed a black knit scarf from her closet and threw it on carelessly, knowing it got rather cold out at night.

Finally, now that she was ready, Evelyn went back to the window and climbed out with surprising ease. She looked around the roof as she crouched cautiously, making sure she wouldn't trip and fall as she studied the roof, looking for a way down. Her eyes flickered around before finding one of her mother's apple trees, the branches have grown far and long, nearly on top of the roof.

Evelyn remembered how strong the branches were, when she first became part of the Mills family she would often be found outside in one of the apple trees in the mornings, fast asleep because she had found it hard to sleep on the memory foam mattress which had previously been too soft for her. She had slept outside for nearly two months before she gave in and slept on her new bed.

Evelyn carefully climbed over to the tree branch, keeping her eyes narrowed as she moved cautiously, knowing it would be easy to fall. Evelyn climbed onto the tree and slowly climbed down the tree, jumping down once she got to a lower part of the tree. Her feet landed steadily on the grass on the side of her house where she looked around for any sign of people that could and would tell her mother of her actions, when she found nobody around her she continued.

Evelyn walked around the town of Storybrook, her hood up so she would not be recognized by any of the town folk or god forbid her mother.

Evelyn stopped to take a breath across from where Henry and, for the short amount of time that she went, herself, went for therapy.

Evelyn stared at the building for a moment, memories of sitting on their therapist's couch, staying silent and staring at the wall unable to think or say a word despite the constant questions from her therapist. Her mother took her out of therapy after five months when she snapped but made no progress, she only made progress when she was out of therapy and with friends.

Suddenly, she spotted a bright, disgusting yellow bug screech to a stop nearby, she stared at the car with a frown and narrowed eyes. She had never seen this car before and she knew everyone in town. So who was it? She couldn't see who was in the car, it was too dark outside and inside of the car.

The driver's door opened first and a tall, blonde woman came out. She was in her twenties by the look of it, her hair was curled slightly and she wore a red leather jacket that stood out, it looked like something Ruby would love. The woman slammed the door shut in apparent anger only increasing Evelyn's curiosity.

This wasn't what caught Evelyn's attention, however. It was the fact that she didn't recognize the woman.

Storybrook never got any visitors nor new residents. Not since she was here and from what she had heard, not before. She was the first one in years, which is why everyone was so fascinated with her at first anyway. Some people still called her a freak.

Her eyes snapped away from the woman as she heard the passenger door open. A shorter, younger male stepped out, one that she recognized immediately.

"Henry?" She mumbled, her eyes widened and her body frozen in shock.

As Henry made his way to the other side of the yellow car, the woman began to speak. "Look it's been a long night and it's almost..." The woman paused to look at the nearby town clock.

Evelyn frowned as she followed her gaze. "Good luck with that." She mumbled. That clock had never worked.

"8:15?" The woman finished staring at the clock in confusion. She knew it was later than that.

"That clock hasn't moved in my whole life." Henry told her, "Times frozen here." He added as he stopped in front of the woman.

"Excuse me?" The woman asked.

Evelyn fought back a groan as she saw Henry's face. She knew he was going to mention the fairy tales. Honestly, she found it harder not to believe him than to believe him however nobody ever believed him and she didn't need to give anyone any more reason to call her a freak.

"The evil Queen did it with her curse." Henry told her. "She sent everyone from the enchanted forest here."

"Hang on. An evil Queen sent a bunch of fairy tale characters here?" The woman questioned.

"Yeah and now they're trapped." Henry answered with ease.

"Frozen in time. Stuck in Storybrook, Maine. That's what you're going with?" The woman responded.

"It's true!" Henry urged hopefully. He didn't want her to call him a liar, to not believe his words just because he was a kid.

Evelyn sighed to herself as the woman continued to speak. "Then why don't they just leave?"

"They can't. If they try, bad things happen." Henry told her.

The woman stared at him for a moment as did Evelyn when suddenly a new voice spoke, a familiar one that Evelyn recognized as their therapist. "Henry." He called as he made his way across the street. "What are you doing here? Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine Archie." Henry told the man before he bent down to pet the dog beside Archie, a Dalmatian also known as the only part Evelyn liked about therapy.

"Who's this?" Archie asked looking at the woman.

"Just someone trying to give him a ride home." The woman answered before Henry could as the boy stood up.

Evelyn knew that wasn't right. The woman was so much more. "She's my mom, Archie." Henry told him causing Evelyn to smirk. She knew it!

"Oh. I see." Archie said.

The woman, Henry's birth mom, smiled tensely before speaking, changing the subject as fast as she could. "You know where he lives?"

"Yeah sure. Just right on Mifflin street. The mayor's house is the biggest one on the block." Archie told her gesturing to the direction as he spoke.

"You're the mayor's kid?" The woman asked Henry.

Henry looked down, knowing he was in trouble. "Maybe."

"Hey, where were you today, Henry? You missed our session." Archie asked curiously.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I went on a field trip." Henry told the man nervously.

"Henry." Archie spoke as he bent down to the boy's level. "What did I tell you about lying?" Evelyn rolled her eyes, knowing the speech far too well. "Giving in to one's dark side never accomplishes anything." Evelyn mouthed the words with the man, having them memorized.

"Okay." The woman spoke. "Well, I really should be getting him home."

"Yeah. Sure." Archie responded as he stood up. "Well listen, have a good night and tell Evelyn I said hi and be good, Henry."

With that, Archie walked off with his dog by his side. "So that's your shrink?" The woman asked Henry with a raised brow.

"I'm not crazy." Henry told the woman immediately. Evelyn sighed knowing that was what the kids called him at his school whenever he spoke of his fairy tales.

"Didn't say that." The woman responded. "Just... he doesn't seem cursed to me. Maybe he's just trying to help you."

"He's the one who needs help. Because he doesn't know." Henry told her insistently.

"That he's a fairy tale character?" The woman questioned.

"None of them do. They don't remember who they are." Evelyn looked down as Henry spoke. Henry began to walk away from the woman to go back to his seat in the car.

"Convenient. All right. I'll play." The woman responded, "Who's he supposed to be?" She asked as she opened her door.

"Jiminy Cricket." Henry answered with ease.

"Right. The lying thing. I thought your nose grew a little bit." The woman teased.

"I'm not Pinocchio." Henry told her as he shut his door.

"Of course you're not. Because that would be ridiculous." The woman responded before getting into her car and shutting her door, promptly driving off without ever noticing the teen standing on the sidewalk.

Evelyn snapped herself out of her daze just as the car rounded the corner, disappearing from view.

I better get home, Evelyn thought, before mom finds out, she added as she started walking back home, relieved to know Henry was safe and finally home.

It's bad enough Henry ran off to find his birth mom, their mom didn't need Evelyn running off as well, or knowing that Evelyn ran off anyway.

Evelyn smirked to herself slightly as she began to rush home, hoping to get there before Henry. Emphasis on the hope.

Evelyn got there after Henry and his mother, her eyes widened as she spotted Henry in the front, stopping suddenly to talk with his mom before they would no doubt go ring the bell.

Evelyn rushed past them, crouching down in the shadows to not be seen before she rushed up to her tree, nearly falling off as her foot slips as she attempted to climb onto the roof. She took a deep breath before trying again and succeeding.

Evelyn climbed into her window just as the front door opened downstairs. Her heartbeat was faster than ever as she closed her window with a wince, hoping she would not be heard.

Hope is for suckers.

꧁ 𝟸,𝟶𝟸𝟾 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ꧂


	7. 𝟶𝟺

꧁ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ꧂

"Henry!" Evelyn heard her mother shout as she shut her window.

Curiously, Evelyn crept over to her bedroom door which was wide open meaning her mother knew she was missing. She listened closely as her mother reunited with her brother, Henry Mills.

"Oh! Are you okay?" Evelyn strained to hear her mother's words as hid behind her door, "Where have you been? Is Evelyn with you? What happened?" Her mother rifled off questions, not allowing Henry to answer.

Evelyn had expected stuttering from her brother, or him telling her of his adventures as if he wasn't in trouble for running off or even his own questions, she had not expected Henry to snap at their mother.

"I found my real mom!" He snapped before she heard the familiar sound of Henry running inside, this sound was usually followed by laughter whether from her or their mother, this time it was followed by silence.

"You're Henry's birth mother?" Evelyn heard her mother ask after a moment however Evelyn had stopped listening as she went to find Henry.

Evelyn crept out of her room, cautiously looking around for him and hoping her mother wouldn't be following him.

Henry was running up the stairs when she caught sight of him. She smiled upon seeing him and called out to him, "Henry!" He locked eyes with her but didn't say a word as he sped up trying to run past her bringing a frown to Evelyn's face as she quickly caught him, wrapping him up in her arms. "Woah there munchkin." She chuckled.

"Let me go!" Henry fought causing Evelyn's frown to deepen.

"Henry what's wrong?" She asked, pulling him back but still holding onto him so he wouldn't run off.

Henry glared at her and that's when she saw it. He was tired. Oh, that makes sense, Evelyn thought. He was still a little kid, after all, her little brother. "Just let me go!"

Evelyn sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright." She said softly as she released him, he huffed before running off to his room only to be followed by the sheriff who paused upon seeing her.

"Evie?" The sheriff questioned.

Evelyn smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Sheriff." She greeted with a hesitant wave.

The sheriff looked between her and her brother's door, which had just slammed shut, for a moment before Evelyn spoke. "I'm fine, you should go check on Henry." The sheriff focused on her with a raised brow, Evelyn shrugged. "I think he's just tired but he didn't exactly want to talk so..."

The sheriff nodded before he went to go check on Henry however he paused once he reached the door to look back at her. "Your mother was worried about you too, ya know."

Evelyn bit her lip as she looked down. "I know." She whispered as the sheriff turned back to the door.

Truth be told, Evelyn didn't know. She didn't understand, sure Regina was her mother but she wasn't like Henry. Regina didn't choose to adopt her, she was forced to. Or at least that's how Evelyn always felt like she was just some chore that was pushed on the mayor.

She didn't know why her mother was worried about her, she wasn't her real daughter, she wasn't even officially adopted by her!

Evelyn sighed, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She knows her mother loves her, of course, she knows, but it was hard to believe that anyone loved her...

Perhaps that was something from her past, Evelyn didn't know. She didn't know the difference between her old self and her new self, she didn't even know her old self and she wasn't sure if she ever would.

If Henry and all his fairy tales were right, Evelyn thought glancing over the banister, his birth mother may change that.

But he probably wasn't right. He was just a kid, a smart kid, but a kid nonetheless and fairy tales being real...

Evelyn sighed, that would be a miracle. But she didn't even know how she would fit into all of that.

It's not like she would be a princess, Evelyn chuckled at the thought.

She was so not a princess.

"Evie." The sheriff called softly as he shut Henry's door, Evelyn's head snapped up to look at him. "Henry's fine, he's just tired."

Evelyn nodded. "Thanks, Sheriff." She told him quietly.

The sheriff nodded. "No problem. You're a good kid." He told her, "Now I have to go report to mother mayor." Evelyn chuckled at the name as the sheriff bounded down the stairs to report back to her mother.

"Madam mayor, you can relax." The sheriff spoke as he walked down the stairs. "Other than being a tired little boy, Henry's fine. And Evelyn's up there too, perfectly fine other than being a tad guilty for running off."

Guilty? Evelyn thought with a smirk. I never said I was guilty. Evelyn shrugged, as long as it'd make mother happy she supposed.

Evelyn stalked off to her room, hoping to be asleep before her mother came up, "Thank you, sheriff." She heard her mother say just as she closed her door.

Evelyn sighed as she went over to her bed, her homework still sitting there, questions unanswered still. Evelyn picked up the papers and slid them into her notebook before setting them down on her desk beside her phone and sitting down on her bed to take off her shoes which she promptly threw across the room without a thought, she took off her jacket before laying under her covers.

Evelyn realized a minute later that she was still in her regular clothes, she groaned to herself but decided against getting up. She was far too comfortable by now, pajamas would have to wait if she put them on at all that night.

It was precisely five minutes after the front door shut, announcing the exit of Henry's birth mother, that her mother came up to have a chat.

Evelyn tossed and turned as she heard her mother's footsteps, she went to Henry's room first, the door shutting again not a minute later before the footsteps approached her door.

Evelyn glared at nothing as she cursed herself for not being able to fall asleep.

Evelyn's thoughts were soon interrupted by her bedroom door opening. It was too late. Evelyn lifted her head to meet her doom, also known as her mother.

"Hey, mom." Evelyn greeted nervously as she sat up in bed.

"Evelyn." Her mother replied making Evelyn wince, feeling a strange sense of Deja Vu upon hearing her full name from her mother in that tone.

Her mother stared at her for a moment before coming into her room, leaving her bedroom door open so the room would have light, and walking over to her bed. Before she spoke again, her mother sat down on the edge of her bed. "What were you thinking?" She questioned.

Evelyn's eyes flickered to her lap, unable to meet her mother's gaze. "I just— I wanted to find Henry." She told her mother softly.

Her mother sighed. "I know that Evie," A nickname, Evelyn perked up, nicknames were good. "But I told you that you couldn't leave until you finished your homework and you knew I was already looking for him."

Evelyn scoffed. "You were here, how was that looking for him?" She asked tensely, unable to stop herself.

Her mother tensed. "I came back because you weren't answering your phone." Her mother told her gesturing to her phone which laid on her desk from when she had tried doing her homework over there.

"I'm sorry mom, I just—" Evelyn paused, sighing. "He's my little brother, I had to look for him."

Her mother sighed, staying quiet for a moment. "You're not in trouble but you can not do this again. No matter what the time is or what you're doing, you have to tell me where you're going." She told me sternly, "Do we have a deal?" She asked when Evelyn didn't respond, a small smile on her face.

Evelyn nodded, shaking her mother's outstretched hand as she spoke. "Deal."

Her mother's smile grew. "Good." She told her daughter, "Now you need to get to bed, you have school tomorrow." Evelyn nodded with a roll of her eyes as if to say I know as her mother stood up, her mother chuckled. "Goodnight Evie." She called as she opened the door to leave.

"Night mom." Evelyn replied as she watched her mother shut her door.

Evelyn sighed as she settled back down on her bed, and curled into her blankets, relaxing in her silent room as she shut her eyes.

If she was lucky, tomorrow would be better.

꧁ 𝟷,𝟺𝟻𝟸 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ꧂


	8. 𝟶𝟻

꧁ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ꧂

Evelyn woke to her alarm clock blaring, she groaned as she rolled on her side before quickly realizing that it was a weekday.

Evelyn huffed as she opened her eyes to look at the clock, her eyes widening as she realized that if she laid in bed any longer she would be late for school, in fact, she should have gotten up at least five minutes ago.

"Oh no!" Evelyn called as she jumped out of bed, nearly falling face-first onto the carpet due to her sheet being tangled around her leg, she quickly unwrapped it with frustrated tugs before rushing to her closet where she grabbed the first thing she saw before going to the bathroom to change, of course, brush her hair and teeth, wash her face and do any makeup she could without being extremely late for school.

Evelyn managed to put on a little bit of mascara along with a bit of highlighter, blush, and a light pink lipstick that seemed almost like lipgloss.

Evelyn smacked her lips in front of the bathroom mirror before rushing out with wide eyes when her eyes caught sight of the clock on the wall. She grabbed her backpack that was sitting on the chair of her desk before rushing out of her room, bounding down the stairs with a mumble of "I'm going to be so late," Evelyn then rushed into the kitchen to grab her lunch from the fridge.

When she got to the kitchen she found Henry calmly finishing his breakfast as their mother sipped her morning coffee.

"What's up with you?" Henry asked before taking a bite of his buttered toast, the action making a crunch sound as Evelyn opened the fridge.

"I slept in!" Evelyn answered as she rummaged through the fridge. "I'm going to be so late!" She groaned as she continued to look for her luck which seems to have been moved as she always kept it in one specific spot so it was easy to find and of course it wasn't there.

This just was not her morning.

Like at all.

Regina pursed her lips, setting down her coffee and picking up the plate she had set out for Evelyn before walking up behind the girl as she spoke. "Late or not you need to eat your breakfast."

"Mom!" Evelyn whined turning around with her brown paper bag lunch in hand.

"Most important meal of the day." Her mother told her holding up the plate.

Evelyn groaned before grabbing a napkin from beside Henry and picking up the two pieces of toast as well as a piece of bacon, she put the roast in her napkin before putting the bacon in her mouth. "You happy?" Evelyn said before humming, swallowing her bacon before speaking, "That's really good bacon."

Her mother rolled her eyes unamused before turning away with a sigh and setting down the plate while Evelyn grinned triumphantly.

With her backpack hanging off her shoulder and balancing her lunch bag and napkin full of toast, Evelyn gave Henry a kiss on top of his head before making her way to the front door with a call of, "Love you guys, see you later!" Over her shoulder.

Evelyn didn't get to hear their reply before she shut the door and headed off to school where she rushed through halls that were nearly empty to get to her first class, her empty napkin being haphazardly thrown into a nearby trash can outside the school and her lunch being carelessly shoved into her locker on a very short stop at her locker.

"I'm here!" Evelyn called with a pant as she entered her classroom.

The teacher, who had clearly been speaking to the class, stopped talking and raised a brow at the girl. "Hello, Ms. Mills." The teacher greeted.

Evelyn smiled sheepishly at her teacher. "Sorry alarm didn't work." She lied poorly as she sat down in her seat ignoring the snort from one of her friends behind her.

The teacher merely nodded before carrying on with the class as if the interruption never happened.

꧁ 𝙻𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙳𝚊𝚢 ꧂

Evelyn walked out of school with a smile on her face as the school day had just ended. She had a craving for Ruby's hot cocoa which her brother had gotten her hooked on and she was determined to have some before going home, so, after a quick message to her mother, she began the short walk to Ruby's.

On her way to the excellent diner, Evelyn bumped into Henry and the blonde woman from yesterday.

"Oh sorry!" Evelyn apologized before realizing who she had bumped into. "Hey, munchkin!" She grinned at her little brother.

"Evie!" Henry called excitedly as he gave her a hug, Evelyn chuckled and picked the boy up like a little kid which the boy huffed at. "Put me down." Henry huffed to which Evelyn shook her head. "Please?" He tried.

Evelyn chuckled and set the boy down. "So who's this?" Evelyn asked as if she didn't already know the woman was his mother, his birth mother that is.

Henry beamed happily. "Oh right! This is my older sister Evelyn but everyone calls her Evie,"

"Don't worry no blood relation." Evelyn chuckled, the woman simply smiled as Henry continued.

"Evie this is my mom, Emma Swan."

"Hi." Evelyn greeted shaking the woman's hand politely.

Before Henry's birth mom also known as Emma Swan could respond, Henry looked at his older sister and spoke, "Me and Emma are going to the tower—"

Evelyn smiled at this.

She and Henry had discovered a beat-up playground that Henry called the tower soon after she entered the Mills family and it had soon become their place as well as a place where Henry could go to get away.

"Do you want to come with us?"

Evelyn shook her head with a soft smile. "I've got a date with a cup of hot cocoa at Ruby's." Evelyn chuckled.

"I knew you'd like it!" Henry beamed happily.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." She replied, "Maybe next time?" She told him referring to the playground.

Henry nodded happily, giving his sister a quick hug before dragging Emma off leaving Evelyn chuckling on the sidewalk.

꧁꧂

Henry sat on the edge of the wooden tower playground near the beach staring out at the water as Emma climbed up behind him, his fairytale book in hand, she then sat down beside him.

"You left this in the car." Emma told him as she handed the young boy his treasures book.

Henry didn't say a word but took the book and held it on his lap.

"Still hasn't moved, huh?" Emma asked referring to the town clock.

"I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here." Emma listened in disbelief to the boy's words, "That the final battle would begin."

Emma didn't miss a beat as she responded, "I'm not fighting any battles, kid."

Henry looked at her in disagreement. "Yes, you are." He told her. "You're here because it's your destiny. You're gonna bring back the happy endings."

"Can you cut it with the book crap?" Emma replied.

"You don't have to be hostile." Henry smiled. "I know you like me. I can tell." Emma brushed a strand of her hair back as Henry continued, "You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. It's okay, I know why you gave me away."

Emma looked at the boy in curiosity and disbelief as he spoke, "You wanted to give me my best chance."

Emma looked away in shock and disbelief. "How do you know that?"

"It's the same reason Snow White gave you away." Henry told her.

Emma sighed. "Listen to me kid." Emma took a deep breath before looking at her son, "I am not in any book. I'm a real person. And I'm no savior."

"You were right about one thing, though." Emma told him. "I wanted you to have your best chance." Emma looked at the young boy sadly as she shook her head, "But it's not with me."

Emma looked away quickly changing the subject. "Come on let's go." She then jumped off the playground.

"Please don't take me back there." Henry pleaded standing up and going to the stairs which he rushed off with ease. "Just stay with me for one week. That's all I ask."

Henry rushed up to his birth mother in desperation. "One week and you'll see I'm not crazy."

"I have to get you back to your mom." Emma told him.

"You don't know what it's like with her!" Henry told her, "My life sucks, Evie is the only good part of this place!"

"Oh, you wanna know what sucking is?" Emma responded in frustration. "Being left abandoned on the side of a freeway! My parents didn't even bother to drop me off at a hospital. I ended up in the foster system and I had a family until I was three but then they had their own kid so they sent me back." Emma rambled.

Emma sighed calming herself and brushing her hair out of her face. "Look." She said bending down to his level, "Your mom is trying her best and your sister seems pretty great. I know it's hard, and I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you, but at least she wants you."

Henry couldn't hold it in any longer. "Your parents didn't leave you on the side of the freeway, that's just where you came through." He told her, determined to make her believe, believe in his stories, believe in her destiny, but most of all, he wanted to make her believe in him in a way that not even Evie ever did.

"What?" Emma asked in confusion.

"The wardrobe." Henry told her. "When you went through the wardrobe you appeared in the street. Your parents were trying to save you from the curse."

Emma took a breath. "Sure they were." She chuckled. "Come on Henry." She told him softly, she then stood up as Henry looked at her losing hope before she turned away and began to walk off.

Henry, albeit reluctantly, followed her.

꧁꧂

When Evelyn returned home, she arrived right after Henry and watched him run into the house immediately, ignoring their mother and not even noticing her.

Evelyn sighed as she walked up to her mother who offered a grin. "I'll go talk to him." She told her mother softly, glancing at Emma who offered a polite smile before focusing on her mother who began to thank her as Evelyn walked inside shutting the door behind her and going upstairs to have a chat with Henry.

She found Henry sitting on his bed with his gaze on his sheets, anyone could tell he was upset with ease but for Evelyn, it was even easier.

"Henry." Evelyn sighed sitting down next to him, "What's wrong munchkin?" She asked softly.

For a moment Henry didn't say a word and then he spoke, soft and hesitant with sadness seeping through. "She didn't believe me."

Evelyn looked at her brother sadly.

In truth, Evelyn didn't quite believe his fairytales either and although she went along with it more than most, Henry knew that. "I'm sorry Hen." She told him.

"No, you're not." Henry told her as he sat up. Evelyn's eyes widened at the coldness of his tone. "I know you don't believe me."

"Henry I—"

"Why don't you believe me?" Henry asked tears in his eyes daring to fall down his face.

Evelyn sighed looking at her lap for a moment before she spoke. "Because sometimes it's easier to believe the world is full of bad things than to believe in happy ever afters."

Henry was shocked and he didn't even attempt to hide this. Whenever he had asked in the past, she rarely responded, when she did he could tell it wasn't honest but this... this was the reason. He could tell.

"I want to believe you, Henry, I do." She told him taking his hand. "It's just easier not to."

Henry stayed silent before tearing his hand out of her grip and wrapping his short arms around her in a hug that made Evelyn grin as she hugged him back.

"I know it's hard to believe." Henry mumbled into her shoulder. "But you will someday."

The way he said it, Evelyn couldn't help but believe it, she forced out a stiff chuckle, ignoring the hope that filled her, pushing it down before she could even begin to believe in such silly things as fairy tales.

"Sure I will Henry." She told him with a sigh as she closed her eyes. "Sure I will."

꧁ 𝟸,𝟷𝟸𝟶 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ꧂


	9. Christmas Special

**꧁ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ꧂**

_**𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎** _

Evelyn stood in the living room of the Mill family home with a smile on her face as Henry sat in front of their Christmas tree while he unwrapped his presents in a hurry, throwing his wrapping paper to the side.

Evelyn had been the first to unwrap her gifts and hers were set neatly to the side, waiting for her to bring them up to her room, her mother's gifts, or rather gift, was still under the tree in a cheap red bag with gold polka dots and strings, inside the bag was a bracelet Henry and Evelyn had got together with all the money they had saved up. It was a silver bracelet with two charms on it, Henry's birthstone, and the stone for the month they found Evelyn as they didn't know her real birthday.

This was her first Christmas with the Mills, with her new family and as far as she remembered the only family she had, and it was great, she was happy but...

There was a feeling Evelyn just couldn't shake like something was missing, something important.

This wasn't unusual, per se, Evelyn had felt this before, several times in fact, but never this intense and usually, she was able to shake it off and move on but ever since she woke up and realized what day it was, she hadn't been able to shake the feeling.

It was like she was forgetting something huge and boy was that a familiar feeling.

Seeing as Evelyn couldn't remember anything before waking up in the hospital bed, Evelyn had felt this before.

Sometimes, like right after she woke up, it was bad, she would stare at a wall for hours, trying to figure it out, trying to remember something, eventually, she was able to brush it off, move on with her day, with her life, but it was still there.

A constant feeling of forgetting something important but never knowing what.

Evelyn stared at the bright lights on the Christmas tree, wishing she could remember whatever or whoever it was but doubting she ever would.

Evelyn sighed, she wished she remembered. Maybe then she would know why this holiday means so much to her, why her heart skipped a beat every time she thought of it like she should be thinking of a particular moment but she couldn't.

She didn't know why her heart skipped a beat, she didn't know why this holiday meant so much to her, she didn't know whether or not she liked this holiday or if she hated it, she knew she loved it in the past, but now it seemed like it was just a reminder, a reminder of a past she couldn't remember or rather the fact that she couldn't remember said past.

Evelyn blinked, forcing a smile as Henry showed off his present, asking her what she thought as she allowed herself to lose herself in the moment, sinking into the feeling of happiness and home despite the never leaving feeling of forgetting something she wasn't sure she would ever remember.

꧁ 𝙸𝚗 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚊𝚜𝚝꧂

_**𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍** _

Evelyn sat at the fire pit on one of the many logs that they used for benches on the island of the Lost, losing herself in the dancing of the fire as she smiled softly, feeling at peace in her home.

"What do you think princess?" Peter asked from beside her, nudging her with a cheeky grin.

He had called her princess from day one although the reasoning behind it had changed, at first he called her princess as an insult, thinking she was a spoiled girl with no reason to be on his island, and eventually it became a reminder, that although she may think she wasn't special (something he did not agree with at all) she would always be his princess and that in itself was special to the only people that mattered.

Them.

Evelyn blinked looking at him with a frown of confusion. "Huh? Sorry I wasn't paying attention." She grinned sheepishly as Peter chuckled.

"Ty-" Evelyn glanced at one of the younger Lost Boys, a sweet brunette boy with dark green eyes that had turned twelve just before he arrived on the island, Ty was short for Tyler but nobody on the island called him that, "wants to decorate for the holiday."

"The holiday?" She asked only growing more confused.

Peter nodded. "Christmas."

Evelyn froze memories of screaming and fighting, an empty, cold home that only brought tears as she watched others have warm homes that only grew warmer and happier around the holiday Evelyn had grown to hate overwhelming her.

She had arrived on the island a little after Christmas and had yet to hear any word of the holiday despite knowing it was close to the holiday and Evelyn had almost thought she could get away with no one knowing, with not having to speak of her past.

Evelyn managed a hum and nod of acknowledgment as her frown deepened.

She noticed Peter's smile fall for a moment before he brought a smile back to his face but she could tell it wasn't as big, wasn't as real either, how could she not? His smile was one of her favorite things.

Peter watched her closely, wondering what was going through her beautiful mind after freezing up at the mere mention of the holiday. He knew it had something to do with the past she never wanted to talk about, the past none of them dared to mention.

He had heard enough from her in their moments alone in one of the few moments when she allowed herself to be vulnerable to know it wasn't a good past and she did not like talking about it to know not to bring it up, and, if he was to ever bring it up, to bring it up when they were alone.

Peter saw the way she glanced at him, realization crossing through her eyes as she studied him.

She knew he noticed, how could he not? She was his favorite thing. He couldn't help but watch her, especially when he knew something was wrong. He just wanted to protect her.

"So what do you think?" Ty asked cheerfully.

Evelyn faked a smile as she looked at him. "I think decorating is a great idea, Ty." She told him warmly, in the same tone she wished her mother had spoke to her in.

She watched as he lit up like the little kid he is and her smile felt a little less forced as he began to ramble about all the things he wanted to do to decorate the island for Christmas or at least their little home on the island, the other boys (mainly the younger ones) chimes in every once in a while with ideas and as the honorary parents of the Lost Boys, (even if they didn't know that they were) Peter and Evelyn watched, listening to every word.

Within the day, their home was decorated for the holiday and some of the boys even made gifts for each other and if some looked a little too good in a way that could only be due to Peter helping, he didn't say a word.

A few of the boys made Evelyn gifts, a flower crown made from mainly leaves with a few flowers they found around the island, a new hunting knife from Felix, and a flower bracelet to match her crown.

They decorated one of the palm trees with a string of leaves and put lights around it on the ground to be their Christmas tree and they had strings of leaves to act as either lights or garland hanging between other trees.

All the boys had smiles on their faces, even the older boys who hadn't expressed their excitement at decorating, happy to celebrate the holiday that to some were the only (or one of the few) good parts of their past.

That day, the holiday became everything Evelyn used to wish it would be, it became a day full of warmth and happiness and she loved it. She was wrapped in hugs every chance the boys got to give her one and there was never a moment without smiles and laughter and did she mention that she loved it?

Later on, Peter and Evelyn went back to their treehouse with smiles on their faces and their hands intertwined.

The day had been full of happy surprises and, although Evelyn didn't know it, Peter had one last surprise for the only lost Girl not to mention the only person who held the key to his heart.

"Come on." Peter said as he climbed the ladder, he rushed to the balcony of their treehouse that faced the mermaid cove, he smiled and sat down on the edge of the balcony, waiting impatiently for her to follow.

Evelyn giggled as she climbed up the ladder after him and followed him out to the balcony.

"What is it, Peter?" She asked as she sat down beside him, their legs hanging over the balcony.

Peter looked at her, suddenly nervous as butterflies flutter around in his stomach. He put his hand behind his back, hiding it from view as he spoke, "You forgot a present down there."

Evelyn furrowed her brows in confusion. "What? What boy made me a gift?" She asked curiously, wondering which lost boy had made her a gift, surely they wouldn't have just let her forget to open their gift unless they forgot about the gift in their excitement...

"Your favorite." Peter told her.

Evelyn raised her brow, relaxing slightly at his words, she knew who he meant of course, how could she not? But she never claimed to be boring. "Felix made me a gift?"

Peter rolled his eyes and huffed. "No princess. I did." He smiled proudly still not revealing his gift.

"Peter you know you didn't have to." She told him softly.

Peter shook his head. "I wanted to. You deserve it. Now would you let me give it to you?" He chuckled.

Evelyn raised her hands in defeat. "Alright, alright." She responded with a smile before letting her hands fall back to her side.

Finally, Peter brought his hand back from behind his back and held out the item to her.

Evelyn moved closer in order to see it properly in the poor lighting of their balcony.

It's a necklace, Evelyn realized. The necklace was gold and had a heart-shaped pendant with a familiar star on it, the second star to the right paired with another star that was significantly smaller, Evelyn smiled at the stars shaped like diamond and then noticed the back as it twisted in the breeze.

On the back was an engraving. Evelyn reached out and felt the words with a smile, the engraving had two words, Lost Girl.

"It's so that you'll always have a piece of our home and me with you, no matter where you are." He told her ignoring the blush on his cheeks that he desperately hopes she wouldn't see in the dark of the night.

"Peter..." Evelyn breathed staring at the necklace.

Peter bit his lip and moved closer, "Do you like it?"

Evelyn smiled looking up at him as she revealed the tears in her eyes for the first time, "Of course I do you, idiot." She told him softly, "I love it."

Peter smiled like a kid in a candy store as he gazed into her eyes, he didn't like the tears in her eyes, he believed she should never cry but he knew they weren't bad tears.

She was happy, he made her happy.

"I love you." Peter whispered in the starlit night.

Evelyn's eyes widened. He had never said those words before, she knew he did just as he knew she did, but they had never said it out loud. Now it seemed so much more real.

"I shouldn't have-" Peter began realizing what he said only to be cut off by her response.

"I love you too Peter." She smiled at him as his blush grew and she pretended not to notice for his sake before glancing at the necklace that was still hanging in the air, gripped tightly in his fingers so it wouldn't fall despite it being wrapped around his hand once or twice so she could see the pendant better. "Now why don't you put that on me?" She suggested moving closer than she had to so he could put the necklace on.

Peter's smile grew impossibly so as he nodded and slipped the necklace around her neck, holding her hair up before clipping it in the back and letting her hair fall back down against her back.

Evelyn smiled and turned back to him and the necklace he made with his magic could be seen clearly as the stars that lit up the night seemed to shine brighter at the moment. "Beautiful." He mumbled admiring not only the necklace but the girl he was lucky enough to call his.

Evelyn blushed and looked down in order to hide it.

Before so much as a minute could pass, Peter used two of his fingers to lift her chin delicately and make her face him, he smiled as their eyes connected and he made circles with his thumb on her cheek as they gazed into each other's eyes, the feel of the necklace comforting on Evelyn's neck.

"You're perfect Evelyn."

꧁ 𝟸,𝟸𝟻𝟷 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ꧂

Ahh!! Not only a Christmas special but also the first peek into Evelyn's past! I will also be having more of her memories appear in the near future because just because she can't remember it doesn't mean you can't read it right? Anyway, I really hope you all enjoyed it because I loved writing it, and if you did enjoy be sure to...

Vote,

Comment,

And...

Have a Happy holidays! ❤️❤️🎄


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